By the Rev’d Hilary Willett

Season: 1st Sunday of the Season of Creation

Readings: Song of Songs 2:8-13 | James 1:17-27 | Mark 7:1-8

So, this week, we have a wonderful gospel reading from Mark about eating defiled food, a wonderful letter from James about doing what the Bible says, and a slightly scandalous reading from Song of Songs. Hmmm. Which one, which one, to focus on for this sermon? It’s a hard decision. But you know what, I think I’m going to focus on Song of Songs. How often do we get to talk about the slightly dodgy book of the Bible? I mean, I think I could count on one hand how many times I’ve heard a sermon on Song of Songs… (hold up an open palm, then close to indicate zero). None.

Now, don’t worry. I’m not going to get all awkward on you. This is going to remain G-rated. I will restrain my cheekiness. Okay, well, actually, I was genuinely considering being awkward earlier this week, but then I had a lovely experience that made me reconsider this.

I was away on Post Ordination Training this week, and the Rev’d Brenda Rockell brought an activity for all of the training priests to engage in. She also reflected on Song of Songs… although she wasn’t standing in a pulpit, so it doesn’t really count as a sermon!

But what Brenda talked about, I found quite profound, particularly in relation to the season of creation that we are now in! But in order to explore this, I want to return to a part of the Song of Songs reading—

“See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

Aren’t these words beautiful? This is another reason I leap upon any chance to talk about Song of Songs. I love the poetry. Imagine having someone say this to you. “Come away with me darling, the winter is over. Come and enjoy the new life before you!” Personally, I would melt. And actually, I did. Kit is a poet, as it turns out. And it really is something to have someone speak to your heart like that. And the rest, as they say, is history!

But, as many of us are aware, there is another way to read this. And in Creationtide, I think that this is particularly fitting. The other way to read this is as a declaration of God’s love for us. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m personally not a fan of interpretations that do this too quickly. So often, we are uncomfortable with the intimacy of Song of Songs, and we try to sanitise it a bit. To make it more… well, decent!

This is not what I want to do. I personally love this book as a description of love between two people. Reading Song of Songs from this lens is beautiful. But today, we are also entering spring. Today, we also recognise God’s love and care during our season of creation. But more than that, we as the church are in a season of little changes. There’s been lots of little changes around the place. We’ve been doing neighbourhood projects to get to know our community. We’ve been trying out new initiatives, playing with how we get to know each other and how we deliver messages.

Speaking of, one of the ways that we have changed how we deliver messages is to have discussion times in sermons, so let’s do that. Today I’d like to introduce you all to something called “contemplative dialogue.” This is a way of communicating that focuses on each person sharing their personal experience without judgment. The way we each do this is by each person taking a turn at sharing one experience or feeling while the others listen. It is important to own your statements here, “I have noticed this, and I feel…” This is because everyone has different experiences: happy, sad, tired… God holds room for them all. We aren’t trying to make a moral statement or convince the other person; we are reflecting on our own experience. After this person has shared, the other person thanks the first person for sharing and doesn’t comment further. Then, the other person shares an experience or feeling, and we follow the same process again.

What we are going to discuss today is one change we have noticed around All Saints and how we feel about it.

Now, just as a safety thing, you are always free not to share or decide the level of sharing you are comfortable with. In fact, because this is our first time sharing in this way, I would recommend not sharing too deeply. But also, this may not be your thing. This is okay. You don’t have to share. You could tell the person beside you that you’re still reflecting instead if you like. The main thing is to thank someone when they do share and not comment further. Just let what has been said sit gently. Perhaps visualise God holding what has been shared. It’s not always our job to comment. Sometimes, we just hold.

Break

Okay, everyone, come back. How did you find contemplative dialogue? It can be a bit challenging, right? I know I find the bit about not commenting really hard.

What I would like you to do now is hold on to that experience. Reflect for a moment on it. Ask God to sit with you in that experience. And in a moment, I’m going to read this passage from Song of Songs again. What might God be saying to you at this moment?

“See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

Sometimes, change brings up all sorts of feelings. None are wrong. They are just a part of our humanity. Changing from winter to spring can be hard for some people. For me, it’s often the start of allergy season (not my favourite change, if I’m honest). For others, it’s a relief and joy. That is totally valid, too.

But changing seasons is also something that just happens. In our lives, in our families, in our churches. But God is with us in change. Calling to us. And in this Creationtide, I invite you to listen to that loving call: “Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”